Ram Leela: When Ayodhya Came to Emerald Isle

Chintan Mehta

EI Library Team

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Ram Leela: When Ayodhya Came to Emerald Isle

If you happened to walk past the T15 lobby on 28^th March morning, you probably heard the commotion — kids cheering, adults laughing, and the general happy chaos that comes with 30+ children having the time of their lives.

This was our second children's event after The Emerald Quest treasure hunt we did earlier this year. But this one turned out quite different from what we'd originally planned.

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A Spark Over Casual Conversation

Here's the backstory. A few of us were sitting around discussing what to do for the next treasure hunt. We wanted to try something fresh — maybe bring in some Indian mythology or cultural element to make it more interesting. That's when Ritika said,

"Ram Navami is coming up — why not do something based on the Ramayana?"

Honestly, it just clicked. What started as a random suggestion over a conversation became the theme for the entire event.

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What We Actually Did?

Unlike the first treasure hunt where kids ran around the society solving clues, this time we kept everyone in one area and ran a series of team activities.

Four teams competed against each other — each one named after a place from the Ramayana (Ayodhya, Mithila, Kishkindha, Lanka).

The activities were loosely based on episodes from the epic.

• Kids assembled tents (inspired by the years spent in the forest),

• defended targets with shields (like Jatayu protecting Sita), and

• threw balls to knock down cups with Ravana's faces stuck on them.

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We had planned to narrate bits of the story between activities, but let's be real — keeping 30 excited kids quiet long enough to listen is easier said than done! So we kept the storytelling light and let the games do the talking.

The kids had a blast. They probably didn't walk away remembering every detail of the Ramayana, but they worked in teams, cheered for each other, and had genuine fun. That felt like a win.

We wrapped up the Treasure Hunt at Clubhouse 2 (CH2) for distribution of Treasure to winning Teams and closing.

Since the Junior Cycling Track inauguration is scheduled at 11:00 AM, a short cycling promotion activity (1–2 rounds) as part of the event 🚴‍♂️. Some kids (and parents) stayed back and participate in this as well.

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Things Didn't Go Exactly As Planned (And That's Okay)

We made quite a few changes on the spot. Some activities took longer than expected, some rules were simplified mid-way, and there were a couple of moments where volunteers just looked at each other and improvised.

But that's part of the charm of doing events with kids — you plan for one thing and adapt to another.

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Thank You, Volunteers

This wouldn't have happened without the people who showed up to help:

Anita Pareek, Anita Oberoi, Uma, Shuchi Agarwal, Varun Goel, Sangeeta, and Rashmi Lohia— thank you for bringing in the supplies and tents and managing kids, and keeping things on track.

And of course, Harinath and Chintan, who pulled the whole thing together.

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We'd Love More Hands

It was genuinely nice to see kids from different towers playing together and adults coming forward to help. These events take effort, but they're worth it.

If you've ever wanted to help out with something like this — or if you have your own idea for an activity — do reach out. We don't need experts; we just need people willing to show up. The more hands we have, the more we can do for our kids.

See you at the next one!

Want to volunteer or share an idea? Drop a message in the society group or reach out to the Library team. Harinath (9987356699)

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